Expansion sleever



ay E. J. NEWHOUSE 2,469,742

I EXPANSfbN SLEEVER Filed April 29, 1947 I g 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 75 I 2/ 94 ieA/zsrzf/l swx/ausz Zmventor May 10, 1949. v E. J. NEwHoUsE' V 2 ,469,742 I EXPANSION SLEEVER Filed April 29, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 2/ flz. 4.

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a o a o o a o Patented May 10; 1949 EXPANSION SLEEVER Ernest J, Newheu esaeee esi Qalit Application April 29,

:The. present invention relates tomachinell ed in theearment pressing. industly,.and moren w ticularly. to a class of machines kn wnas --.sle vv ers" which are employed. primaril to press d re hape the; leeves of coats, jackets, and. other garments. after. cleaning.

Priorv sleeverslhave eonsis.ted,.for themost part, of i arelatively narrow. steaming board which .ex-. tends horizontally outward; irom its supporting body, and the sleeve of the garmenato'henressed is pulled over :thefree end of theboard, smoothed down,.andsthensteamedby. opening a valve which admits steam to ztheinterior of theboard. The steam, escaping .zthrough perforations .in the top of the board, blows through the material of the sleeveeandproduees. the desired smoothing and pressing effect.

The principal drawbackto the. above arrange ment is that .eonsiderable time is consumed 'iin smoothing the sleevedownover the board before admitting the steam, andin rotating the sleeve on the board and repeating the operation 50 as to press all sides of the sleeve.

. Another disadvantage .of this .form ofsleever isthat thexsleeve material must-be stretched over the board by handwh-en stretching to eor-reetfor shrinkage,.which is tedious and slow, and requires eonsiderable skill on the .partof the. operatorzi-n epplyinguniformtension to. all parts of the sleeve,

Another knownform-of :sleever employs a supp.orting-. arm which is enclosed by a fabric-mag, over. which the garment sleeve ispulled, Steam is then admitted .to the -interior-of the bag-infiatingthe latter. until it completelv-fills-the sleeve,

thereby smoothing out. any. wrinkles in the-material. 1A eer-tain amount of the inflating steam escapes. through the relatively open fabric of the bag,. and-blows through the material of thegarment sleeve, with thedesired eflect, This form of sleeverovercomes some of the shortcomings of the firstmentionedtype, in that the garment sleeve isautomatieally smoothed out by' the bag as the latteris inflated, thereby eliminating the operations of smoothing by hand over a board,

andalsoby -reason of the fact that the entire- 1947, SerialNo. 144,667

. @Aneth r object oftheinventionistoprov dean eth ne-ion :sleever having two. head units wh ch a e adanted to be spread apart after the. arment sleevewhaszbeen pulled over them, sort-hat them: 5 tiresleeve is smoothedoutiinone operation-prior l to steaming.

Anoth.. r.- oh-ieet of the invention is to provide an egpansion sleeverin 1Whi0h the two. head u li s are spreadanartby means-of foot pedals, leavineboth hands e itzhe operator free to manipulate-the gar: m rit -edn .a further object. of. athe inventionis. to provi e a .expansion. sleever having two .head unit h; fif wllichis divided into a heater com.- partment. and aperforatedsteamer eompartment, m ans fer ontinueilslyv supplying steam-Jo thezheat r.eempartmentsto maintain the units t a hi e n rat ireso as;to.-minimize.condene a n l y eon rolled valve v1,1.1s2tnsu1f 1 to the;steamer-compartment. which ssues throueh perforati ns in zthe Pertinentwalltohlow threu h the sleeve. inaa :T or oin and t r o J e-tsand advanta es l resenti nven on wi l become apparent to 'skill d. inrthe. art an n consideration ofz-the g detailed description of the preferred s dlmer t there f, refe eneebeinerhad to the P err is a artially ut away side .elevational we t e l n 4 in Eieurerz;

v H refine enlarged, fgmentary. sectional view-taken. tqnethel nefirain Figure 3;

.=}:"ig 1 Q is a view. showing the two head. units v apartgtolstretoh out a sleeve; and ,Eigure "-7- is an enlarged sectional view taken el met e li e in F u e .;I n,the drawings,the reference numeral Ml indigates a su porting stand or .frame, made up of four iron pipe legs H having horizontal .ioipe trame inembers ['2 and i3 eon-nectedvto their .up-

ds by three-.way-porner.pipe'fittings- M. QntQp .of;the.frame 5| 0 andIsecured thereany suitable manner is .a sheet metal vtable t op 5 having a. backstop 1 .6 extending upwardly therefrom along its rear edge.

33319 .QDQIfifing mechanism of. the. expansion sleever s: desi nated. in. its entiretyy he referl lilq e numer l :2 0. and comprises a. .pairv -.0f substantially" hQr zontally extending head units 2 l and g i hi hi. e pos tioned above :the .work table J5 ichare supported entirely at one... end, gthe.other end freesothatagarment sleeve bewpl i lednqyei' the same. "The. head units 21, 2;? are. arran ed one. above theother vand-hackto-back, and when the machine is at rest, the two heads are disposed closely adjacent one another, converging to the left to a point of contact at their outer or free ends.

Both the upper and lower heads 2|, 22 are preferably made up of die cast aluminum sections, and each comprises a heater compartment and a steamer compartment which are independently supplied with steam to perform their respective functions, as will be described in more detail hereinafter. The two heads are generally similar in configuration, each being elongated, tapered in plan form, and having a rounded nose at its outer end.

The heater compartment of the lower head 22 is shown at 23, and comprises a closed chamber of rectangular cross section, having a solid end portion 2'! at its right hand end, with a tapped hole 2t (Figure 4) formed in the bottom wall thereof adjacent the end portion 21. The threaded upper end of a supporting steam pipe 26 is screwed into the hole 2 1 and the bottom end of the pipe 26 extends down through an opening in the table it and is threaded into the top branch of a cross fitting 3D. The two side branches of the fitting 36 are threaded onto the adjacent ends of horizontal pipe sections Kid in the right hand end of the frame l0, and the steam pipe 26 is thus an integral part of the supporting stand,

providing support for both heads of the operating mechanism 28, since the upper head 2] is supported on the lower head 22 by a linkage arrangement which will be discussed presently.

In addition to its function of supporting the mechanism 29, the pipe 25 also serves to carry steam to the heater compartment 23 of the lower head, and as a drain line for condensate formed therein. To this end, the pipe 26 is connected to a steam supply pipe 3i through the agency of two intermediate pipes 32, 33, and a cross fitting 3 Pipe 32 is threaded at its upper end into the bottom branch of the cross fitting 30, and its bottom end is threaded into the top branch of cross fitting 3d. Pipe 33 is threaded at one end into one of the side branches of fitting 34, v

and at the other end into a T-fitting 35 which is threaded, in turn, onto the end of the steam supply pipe 3!. A steam trap 36 is connected by a short length of pipe 6!} to the bottom branch of the fitting 3t, and its function is to receive condensate draining back down the pipes 32, 40 and to discharge the same through a discharge pipe il. To insure proper drainage of the heating compartment 23, the latter is mounted on the supporting pipe 25 with its free end tilted upwardly at a slight angle so that condensate forming in the compartment runs down the incline and out the pipe 26, the top end of the latter being disposed slightly below the surface of the bottom wall 25.

In order to confine the steam to pipes 32 and 26 and prevent it from passing through the pipes of the supporting stand HI, the two frame pipe sections l3a connected into the side branches of cross fitting 35 are closed up solidly by plugs 42, as shown in Figure 3.

Mounted on the underside of the heating chamber 23 is a deeply crowned cover plate 43, the upwardly turned edges of which lie flat against the bottom surface of the chamber 23 so that the plate 43 and wall 25 cooperate to form the steamer compartment 44. The cover plate 43 has a plurality of rather closely spaced perforations 39 formed therein, said perforations being arranged in three rows extending the length of the head. The plate is secured to the chamber 23 by means of countersink screws 45 which extend through holes in the plate and are threaded into tapped holes provided in bosses 35 formed on the bottom surface of the wall 25. The right hand end of the crowned cover plate 33 is filled in solidly at 67, and this solid portion has a hole 48 formed therein, through which the pipe 26 extends, said hole being slightly larger in diameter than the outside diameter of the pipe so that the latter passes through freely without interference.

Steam is admitted to the steamer compartment 3 5 by means of a valve 5i and is conveyed from the valve to the compartment through a length of copper tubing 5!. One end of the tubing 5| is connected into the steamer compartment 44 by a coupling 52 which is threaded into a tapped hole in the plate t3, while the other end of the tubing is connected by a coupling 53 to one of two outlets on the valve 50. The valve 50 is mounted on the top branch of the T-fitting 35, and thus communicates directly with the steam supply pipe BE. A pivoted valve-operating lever M is connected by a chain 55 to the front end of an angle iron 56 extending forwardly from a pedal 69. The pedal 63' is disposed adjacent the left hand end of a wood slat floor rack 61, and is connected to the front slat thereof by hinges 62.

The upper head 2! is generally similar in construction to the lower head 22, but is inverted so that the heater compartment is on the bottom and the steamer compartment on top. The heater compartment is designated at 63 and comprises a closed chamber of rectangular cross section, having a solid end portion S i at its right hand end. A cavity 55 (see Figure 5) extends into the solid end portion 64 on the side of the longitudinal center line of the heating chamber nearest the operator, and opening into the cavity from below is a tapped hole 65. The threaded top end of a copper tube H3 is screwed into the hole $6, and the tube extends down through alined holes 'il in the solid end portions H and 41 of the chamber 23 and plate 43, respectively, of the lower head. At its lower end, the tube 10 is connected by a coupling l2 to a flexible metal hose (3, and the latter is connected, in turn, by a coupling M to the right hand branch of the cross fitting 3d. The hose it and tube it supply steam to the heater compartment 63 and also act as a drain line for condensate formed therein, carrying the condensate down to the cross fitting 34 where it runs down pipe 40 into the steam trap 36 and is discharged through pipe dl. To promote proper drainage of the heater chamber 63, the upper head is mounted so that, when at rest, its free end is tilted upwardly at a slight angle. The flexible hose 73 permits movement of the upper head 21 with respect to the stationary structure, and it will also be noted that the holes H are considerably larger in diameter than the tube l8, permitting considerable lateral and angular displacement of the latter without interference.

Mounted on the top side of the heating chamber t3 and cooperating therewith to form the steamer compartment ll is a crowned cover plate 15 having perforations '58 provided therein. As in the case of the bottom plate 53, the plate 15 is secured by countersink screws 15 which are threaded into tapped holes in bosses formed on the top surface of the compartment outer wall. A steam supply tube 8| is threaded into a tapped hole 82 f0rmed in'the solid portion 64 of the heater. compartment 63 behind the cavity 65. The tube -8l extends down through alined oversize holes 83 in the sol-idend portions 2'? and 4'! of the'lower head and is connected by a coupling'fi -l to a flexible metal hose 85. The hose 851s connected, in turn, by a coupling 86 to the second of the two outlets, referred to earlier, on the valveit. The hose 85 and tube 8| carry steam to the steamer compartment ll when the valve 58 is actuated, and since the steamer compartments of both the upper and lower heads are served by parallel lines connected into the valve :59, it will be seen that both steamer compartments receive steam simultaneously and at the same pressure.

The supporting pipe 26 and other steam lines leading up to the two heads 2!, 22 are preferably, although not necessarily. enclosed by a tubular sheet metal enclosure 9E3 extending from the table top l5 up to the cover plate 43 on the lower head, the purpose of which is to protect the operator from being burned by accidental contact with the hot steam pipes.

The upper head 2| is supported on the lower head 22 for movement toward and away from the latter, by means of a sturdy lever arm 9! which is 'pivotally connected intermediate its ends by a pivot pin 92 to a pair of laterally spaced lugs 93 extending upwardly from the top surface of the lower head heater compartment 23 at the extrerne right hand end thereof. The left hand end of the lever 9! extends into the space between the upper and lower heads, and is connected by a pivot pin ill-to a pair of lugs 95 projecting'downwardly from the bottom surface of heater chamber 63 intermediate the ends of the latter.

A cord 96 is attached to the right hand end .of thelever arm 9|, and is fastened at its lower end to an angle iron 9'! projecting forwardly from a pedal .98. The pedal 98 is disposed adjacent the right hand end of the floor rack 6| and is connected to the front slat thereof by hinges 99 When the pedal 93 is stepped on, the right hand end of the lever arm 9| is pulled down and the left hand end thereof is swung upwardly, raising the .upper head 2| away from the lower head 22. A counterweight Hi0, bolted to the lever arm 9| adjacent the right hand end of the latter, balances out a portion of the weight of the upper head 2| so that substantially the entire force of the .foot pressure applied to the pedal 98 is applied to the upper head to exert a stretching force on the 'material of the garment sleeve. The flexible connection of the left hand end of the lever arm Hi to the upper head 2! at the point shown, intermediate the ends of the head, results in an equalized application of tension forces to all parts .of the garment sleeve in much the same manner that an equalizer bar transmits force equally to two separate points of application.

To operate the expansion sleever of my invention, the sleeve S of a garment G (Figure 6) is drawn over the free end of the heads 2|, 22, and pedal 98 is then depressed, raising the upper head 2 I, as shown, until the sleeve is stretched smooth. The pedal 68 is then depressed, opening the valve 58 and admitting steam to the two steamer compartments as and ll. The steam escapes through the holes 39 and T8 in the heater compartment cover plates, and blows through the sleeve material, leaving the latter smoothly pressed and free of wrinkles. If the sleeve requires some stretching to shape to correct for shrinkage, the

operator s.:merely.incr.eases the pressure :onrthe pedal fit'while steam is being applied.

"Ihe'steam which is continuously admittedto the two heater. compartments 23 and v63 heats the steamer compartments and" to a sufficiently'high temperature to reduce condensation therein to a minimum.

While .I have shown and described in con siderable .detail what I believe to'be the preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood that this is merely. an illustrative embodiment, and that various changes may be made in the shape and arrangement of the. several parts thereof without departing from the broad-scope of: the invention,.as defined in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. An expansion sleever comprising a supporting stand, a pair of generally horizontally disposed heads arranged one above the otherpthe lower head being rigidly supported at one of its ends from said stand, and the upper head being movable toward and awaytherefrom, each of said heads having a heater compartment .and a steamer -conipartment,v means for raising said upper head away from said lower head-means. for continuously admitting steam to said heater compartments, and valve means controllable-by the operator for admitting steam to said steamer compartment.

.2. An expansion sleever comprising a supporte ing stand, a pair of generally :horizontally d-is posed heads arranged oneabove the other, the lower head beingv rigidly. supported at one ofits ends from said stand, and the upper head being movable toward and away therefrom, each of said heads having an. outside steamer compartment and an inside heater compartment, means flexibly connected to said upper headintermed-iate the ends thereof for applying a force ten-ding to raise said upper head away from said lower head, means for continuously admitting steam tosaid heater compartments, and valve means controllable by the operator for admitting steam to said steamer compartment.

3. An expansion sleever comprising as-upporting stand, a pair of generally horizontally disposed headsqarranged one above the other, the lower head being rigidly mounted at one end on said stand and tiltingupwardly therefrom at-a slight angle, each of said headshaving a heater compartment and a steamer compartment, means flexibly connected to said upper head intermediate the ends thereof for applying a force tending to raise said upper head away from said lower head, a steam supply pipe, another pipe connecting said steam supply pipe to the heater compartment of said lower headat said one end thereof, a flexible line connecting said other pipe to the heater compartment of said upper head, said other pipe and said flexible l-ine serving'both to carry steam to said heater compartments and to drain off condensate formed therein, a steam'trap arranged to receive condensate from said other pipe and said flexible line and to discharge the same, a manually operable valve connected to said steam supply pipe, and lines connecting said valve to the steamer compartments of both of said heads.

4. An expansion sleever comprising a supporting stand, a pair-of generally horizontally disposed heads .arranged one above the other, the lower head being rigidly mounted at one end on said stand and tilting upwardly therefrom ata slight angle, each of said heads having a heater compartment and a steamer compartment, a lever connected intermediate its ends to said lower head, the inner end of said lever being pivotally connected to said upper head intermediate the ends of the latter, a pair of foot pedals, one of said pedals being connected to the outer end of said lever arm whereby pressure applied to said one pedal causes said upper head to be raised away from said lower head and to apply an equalized tension to all parts of a garment sleeve inserted over said heads, a steam supply pipe, another pipe connecting said steam supply pipe to the heater compartment of said lower head at said one end thereof, a flexible line connecting said other pipe to the heater compartment of said upper head, said other pipe and said flexible line serving both to carry steam to said heater compartments and to drain off condensate formed therein, a steam trap arranged to receive condensate from said other pipe and said flexible line and to discharge the same, a valve connected to said steam supply pipe and having an operating lever, lines connecting said valve to the steamer compartments of both of said heads, and means connecting the other of said pedals to said valve operating lever.

5. An expansion sleever comprising a supporting stand, a pair of head units arranged back-toback adjacent one another, one of said head units being movable toward and away from the other one, each of said head units having a heater compartment and a perforated steamer compartment, means for continuously admitting steam to said heater compartments, and valve means controllable by the operator for admitting steam to said steamer compartment.

6. An expansion sleever comprising a supportcompartment and an inside heater compartment, a

means flexibly connected to said one head unit intermediate the ends thereof for applying a force tending to move the same away from the other head unit, means for continuously admitting steam to said heater compartments, and valve means controllable by the operator for admitting steam to said steamer compartments.

'7. An expansion sleever comprising a supporting stand, a pair of head units arranged back-toback adjacent one another, one of said head units being movable toward and away from the other one, each of said units having a heater compartment and a perforated steamer compartment, each of said heater compartments having a steam supply pipe connected therewith for continuously admitting steam and for draining oii condensate, a steam trap arranged to receive condensate from said pipes and to discharge the same, a manually controllable valve, and steam lines connecting said valve to each of said steamer units.

8. An expansion sleever comprising a supporting stand, a pair of generally horizontally disposed heads arranged one above the other, the lower head being rigidly mounted at one end on said stand and tilting upwardly therefrom at a slight angle, each of said heads having a heater compartment and a steamer compartment, means flexibly connected to said upper head intermediate the ends thereof for applying a force tending to raise said upper head away from said lower head, a steam supply pipe, a second pipe connecting said steam supply pipe to the heater compartment of said lower head adjacent said one end thereof, a third pipe connected to the heater compartment of said upper head and extending down through a vertical hole in said lower head, a flexible line connecting said third pipe to said second pipe, the heater compartments of said upper and lower heads being supplied continuously with steam by their associated pipes, a manually operable valve connected to said steam supply pipe, and lines connecting said valve to the steamer compartments of both of said heads.

9. An expansion sleever comprising a supportillg stand, a pair of generally horizontally disposed heads arranged one above the other, the lower head being rigidly mounted at one end on said stand and tilting upwardly therefrom at a slight each of said heads having a heater compartment and a steamer compartment, means flexibly connected to said upper head intermediate ends thereof for applying a force tending to raise said upper head away from said lower head, a steam supply pipe, a second pipe connecting said steam supply pipe to the heater compartment of said lower head adjacent said one end thereof, a third pipe connected to the heater compartment of said upper head and extending down through a vertical hole in said lower head, a fourth pipe connected to the steamer compartment of said upper head and extending down through another vertical hole in said lower head, said third and fourth pipes being engageable with the sides of their respective holes to brace the upper head against lateral displacement with respect to the lower head, a flexible line connecting said third pipe to said second pipe, the heater compartments of said upper and lower heads being supplied continuously with steam by their associated pipes, a pedal operated valve connected to said steam supply pipe, a line connecting said valve to the steamer compartment of said lower head, and a flexible line connecting said valve to the bottom end of said fourth pipe.

10. An expansion sleever comprising a supporting stand, a pair of head units arranged back-toback adjacent one another, one of said head units being stationary and the other being movable toward and away therefrom, each of said head units having a heater compartment and a perforated steamer compartment, a steam supply pipe, another pipe connecting said steam supply pipe to the heater compartment of said stationary head unit, a flexible line connecting said other pipe to the heater compartment of said movable head unit, a valve connected to said steam supply a pair of lines connecting said valve to the steamer compartments of both of said heads, a pair of independently operable foot pedals, and means connecting one of said pedals to said movable head unit for moving the latter away from said stationary head unit, the other of said pedals being connected to said valve to operate the same.

ERNEST J. NEWHOUSE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,501,307 Boyuls July 15, 1924 2,092,278 Harvey Sept. 7, 1937 2,180,941 Leef Nov. 21, 1939 

